Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1887-12-01
RAILROAD.
Across The Continent
via Dodge City.
The Rock Island Has Arranged
With the Denver g. Rio Crande
and Central Pacific to run
to the pacific Coast.

OF. JBSEhIt, no, NOV. CO.. ItSIleut
p r. Cable, Of the Rock Island system.
was in the city yesterday, on his way
back from Pueblo. He had been there to
consult with the officials of the Denver
& Rio Grandc and Central Pacific, with
reference to connecting with them and
forming through trunk line from Chi
cago to the Pacific coast, via this city.
The Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska rail-
way is pushing into the west with an en-
ergy that is surprising. It's Central route
will be the most direct to the Pacific
coast by several hundred miles. 1t leaves
the present line at Bucklin, Ford Co., to
Pueblo. Col. At Pueblo it makes a direct
connection with the Denver 81 Rio
Grande, which line, together with the
Central PaciGc, will take its cars to San
Francisco.
The soathern route will leave the pres
ent line at Harrington, Kas and pro-
coed in an air line TO Ell Paso, Texas,
from the latter place via the Southern
Pacific it viii get into California and
reach the coast The line from Harring-
ton will 90 through No Mans Land.
The object of these two lines is to make
the Denver and Rio Grande and the
Southern Pacific roads independent OF
the Santa Fe. These two lines are aid
ing-if not by actual cash by promises,
in the building Of the G. X. 81 n. to the
junction with them. President Cable, OF
the Rock Island, with his officials have
made several trips west to confer with
the officials of these roads.
The line to Chicago and the east via
the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska will be
much shorter from the Denver q Rio
Grande and Southern Pacific than by the
Santa Fee The Chicago, Kansas Il Ne
braska company is now surveying line
from Caldwell, Kansas, which will run
south to Galveston.
The arrangement referred to in the
first paragraph of the above is more I'M
portant to Dodge City than our readers
are generally aware Of. 1t has been a
conundrum why the A. K. & c. Ry. co.
did not plat and prepare to boom the
sixty acres of land owned by thai corpo-
patton, which lies between their elegant
depot and the business center of this city;
but the deal above referred to makes it
perfectly clear.
In the first place the exchanging OF
business with the d. & r. G. and Cen
tral Pacific makes the route via Dodge
CITY much shorter line than the one
proposed via II Paso, over the Southern
Pacific and makes the A. X. s. c. a
link in the central transcontinental route
for freight and travel Of the great Rock
Island system. This Will not only be the
shortest Of any of the avenues for COM
merce between the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans, but it now seems quite probable
that the Rock Island system will have no
other outlet to the Pacific coast for some
wears to come. as the FL Paso connection
is thereby rendered unnecessary. The
plan of running line TO Ell Paso was
adopted for the purpose Of securing an
outlet to the coast at a time when the
Southern Pacific seemed to be the only
company with which favorable arrange
ments could be made to exchange traffic
across the continent and also when the
Rock Island people had reason to believe
there was plenty of coal where the pro-
posed line would cross the Neutral Strip.
During the past season investigation has
proved the hope of securing coal supplies
in the Neutral Strip was delusive, and
the company was compelled to look else
where for fuel. This led naturally to an
inspection of the coal fields of Colorado,
and negotiations with railroads con-
nected Herewith, resulting finally in not
only solving the fuel problem, hut the
securing of a very satisfactory arrange
ment for much shorter route to Cali
fornia. The completion of the Ell Paso
line will, in ali probability, be indefinite
lie postponed, and extended only as the
business along the line shall pay operat-
ing expenses.
The result of all this is an immense
amount of rolling stock to be taken care
of on this line and only stock sufficient
to do the local business in Meade county
used on that line. Dodge CITY, on ac-
count of her splendid water facilities |
has been kept in view as a division point !
from the time the a. K & c. manage |
ment succeeded in securing the sixty |
acre tract OF river front level bottom |
land SO convenient to the city, but now
the signs of the times indicate an i'm |!
portant plant of car works at this point, |
where disabled rolling stock on the west |
ern portion of the system in Kansas will |
be sent for repairs. A division will also |
be established near the state line, one at |
Pueblo, and another at an intermediate |
point between the line and the city last |
w. C.S.